hello, this is the briefing. we are live from windsor castle. i'm sally bundock. we are bringing you special coverage of the build—up to saturday's royal wedding. counting down to the picture—perfect match, prince harry and meghan markle prepare for their big day. we will have the latest on last—minute rehearsals. with thousands of royal fans expected to line these streets, the question everyone is asking is who will walk meghan down the aisle, after she confirms her father is recovering from a heart operation. and we will meet people from meghan‘s home town in the usa, where her old school, neighbours and friends will hold a unique party for the royal couple. in business: happy couple, happy economy. from tourism to tea towels to trade,

why the royal wedding could give a welcome boost to british business. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. so, with just one day left to go, are you embracing the wedding fever? are you draped in bunting, setting up for a street party, or is it all a bit much for you? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. there are just over 2a hours to go

until harry and meghan tie the knot. speculation is mounting about who will walk ms markle down the aisle, after it was confirmed that her father won't attend. many believe the honour will fall to her mother, doria ragland, who will meet the queen later today, accompanied by her daughter and future royal son—in—law. other members of the royal family are also in windsor ahead of the wedding, including the duke and duchess of cambridge, and the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. here is our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. the months of planning are very

nearly over. a chapel with a history which stretches back across the centuries will stage a wedding which will be watched by audiences stretching around the globe. harry and meghan were at the castle yesterday afternoon for a final run through with the bridesmaids and pageboys. on the streets of windsor, the best seats have already been bagged. the military have been through their paces, rehearsing the carriage procession which will take the newly married harry and meghan, weather permitting, in an open carriage through the streets of windsor. the stage is pretty much set, the principal players are more or less assembled, but it is still not clear who will be performed one important role. who, in the absence of the bride's father, thomas markle, will walk down the aisle. the most obvious candidate is meghan‘s mother, doria ragland. she

was at windsor yesterday and she will be meeting the queen there this afternoon. another possibility is that prince charles could escort meghan to the altar. it would be a significant gesture welcome to the family's newest member. we should know today. as we have mentioned, today is the final day ahead of the wedding, so any last minute reparations which need to be done today, we have already mentioned there are members of the royal family here in windsor. as you can see, windsor is waking up and it will soon get extremely busy here. there is so much security here are round—the—clock already, and pa rt are round—the—clock already, and part of the road closures are going to expand out from the centre of windsor as the day progresses. we have already seen members of the public who are camping here, down the long walk in that direction. they are getting ready to make sure they have the prime spot to see the

newly married couple as they do the procession in the carriage, a long, long walk after the wedding tomorrow. the wedding is that midday, but guests are expected to arrive at windsor castle from around 9:30am tomorrow morning, with the prime members of the royal family arriving about 11 a.m.. royal wedding fever may well be building here in windsor, but as our los angeles correspondent james cook has been finding out, it is attracting just as much attention across the pond. at meghan‘s old school in los angeles, the festivities have begun early. a royal garden party, california style. there was even a corgi, as well as a double helping of red, white and blue.|j corgi, as well as a double helping of red, white and blue. i think it's a wonderful thing, and i think that

she best represents our school motto, which is educating the hearts and minds of girls for 100 years, and minds of girls for 100 years, and through her humanitarian efforts, i think she best embodies that. she is such an inspiration, definitely, for all, for princess reasons and for acting reasons, definitely. way as she an inspiration to you? she is definitely an inspiration for me because she went to my school, she also went to my elementary school as well, so i feel like i am following in her footsteps, and that definitely makes it so exciting because you never know what could be next in your life, and for her it is princess. well, the celebration is a curious combination of british tradition and american exuberance. and it also marks a golden pr opportunity for a family which carefully crafted image which it projects to the world. in hollywood, where meghan made her name, tourists signed a card for the happy couple.

but what do locals make a bit old? signed a card for the happy couple. but what do locals make a bit old ?|j have been following the royal wedding, andi have been following the royal wedding, and i am very excited for... is it meghan? i am very excited for meghan, so it is awesome. why are you interested? it is the big news, i mean, it is the royal wedding, i mean, is the big news, i mean, it is the royalwedding, i mean, who is the big news, i mean, it is the royal wedding, i mean, who wouldn't be excited? what do you think of the royal family? i don't care too much. idid royal family? i don't care too much. i did watch the crown. what did you think of that? i loved it. i think it isa think of that? i loved it. i think it is a great thing that the royals are diversifying, and starting to look like the rest of the world. because personally, here in america, we don't believe in that royal staff. ever body's created equal. they should be working, just like i'm working. and action. hello everyone, and welcome to our royal wedding dish. harry is getting married thomas to an american! and actress! these americans are excited. # i just

actress! these americans are excited. # ijust wild about harry, and harry is wild about meg. excited. # ijust wild about harry, and harry is wild about megm excited. # ijust wild about harry, and harry is wild about meg. it is like a local girl done good, so i think the interest in america is so great because it is one of our own marrying into the royal family, and an american divorcee hasn't married successfully into the royal family since it almost brought the british monarchy down with sense and end the 19305. # monarchy down with sense and end the 1930s. # dancing queen. for many americans, the monarchy is a soap opera, and even though it starts at 4am local time, there will be plenty of viewers here for the episode with the hollywood princess. so as you were hearing there from james, there is so much excitement and attention on his wedding in the

us, no surprise at all given the fa ct us, no surprise at all given the fact that meghan markle is from the us, and that in itself is groundbreaking for the royal family. here at windsor, as you can see, the sun is coming up now. the last wedding to take place at windsor castle was in 2008, and that was the queen's grandson, and prior to that, of course, in 2005, it was the wedding of the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. there have been many weddings at windsor castle. this castle is very used to hosting these very elaborate, extraordinary and historic events. and, in terms of how this impacts the uk, there is so much discussion about how the uk economy is benefiting from the royal family. if we turn to the business angle now, could it be a case of happy couple, happy economy? well, according to co nsulta nt

happy economy? well, according to consultant brand finance, the wedding could bring over $1 billion to the uk. it says, as well as the obvious benefits in increased tourism and merchandise sales, we should also factor in the positive impact on britain's global brand. richard griffiths is corporate communications director at the global pr firm ketchum. nice to see you, richard. this kind of event is a gift, isn't it, for pr? it is a gift for pr, and just to give you an example, many brands are cashing in. if you changed your name to meghan, today, or if we were to change our name to harry and meghan, we could actually walk into the british airways first—class lounge tomorrow for free, ahead of our flight. tomorrow for free, ahead of our flight. so that as an example of how british airways are cashing in. but, as you say, the economic statisticians have been looking at this, and they have come up with

some pretty eye watering numbers. so brand finance, for example, they are estimating the wedding could lead to a mere $500 million increase in tourism. airbnb have also been putting their heads together, in terms of the impact that it might have on tourism. they are estimating that this weekend alone their hosts will be taking in an estimated 42,000 guests. that isjust over the next two or three days. and we shouldn't forget that, this may seem like a bit of fun, a bit of frippery, but tourism is big business for the uk. it is worth something like $171.5 billion every year. now, many people will also be asking what will the longer term impact be, beyond this weekend alone? we see on british high street at the moment there are a number of retailers that are pulling very simple stunts like putting union jacks out there on their frontages. but what is the long—term benefit

going to be? because overall, over the next sort of year or two and beyond, we could see more tourist flocking to britain as a result of the excitement of this weekend. but let's see what happens. all right, thanks a lot, richard. we will see you later. just an interesting fact that i picked up, when it comes to the cost of royal weddings, there was a freedom of information requests following kate and william's wedding, which of course took place in central london, and the cost of policing their wedding was £6.35 million. we will talk about the costs of the wedding later, because of course, it is not quite clear how much it'll cost. the royal family never divulges those fa cts . royal family never divulges those facts. but we will discuss that later in detail in business briefing. we will have lots more on the royal wedding in a moment. but first, let's brief you on some of the other stories making

the news: the world health organization is meeting in geneva later today to decide if the outbreak of the ebola virus in the democratic republic of congo should be treated as an international threat. 25 deaths are being investigated, and more than 40 people have shown symptoms of infection. the virus has now been found in a busy port city. for the first time in the cia's history, a woman will lead the agency. gina haspel, who is a cia veteran, has been confirmed by us senators as its director. many politicians opposed her nomination. ms haspel once ran a secret prison in thailand where terror suspects were subjected to waterboarding. high levels of toxic gas have forced emergency workers on hawaii's big island to retreat, following the latest eruption of the mount kilauea volcano. people have been warned to get away from a sulphur dioxide cloud which is killing large swathes of vegetation. police in malaysia say they have

made a massive seizure of cash, jewellery and designer handbags in raids on homes and offices linked to the former prime minister najib razak. mr najib and his wife were banned from leaving the country after he unexpectedly lost power in elections last week. he has denied any wrongdoing. you are with the briefing. we are at windsor castle with one day to go before the royal wedding. do stay with us on the programme. we have plenty more for you. including: the other big day. we meet claire and dan, who will also be tying the knot on saturday. the pope was shot, the pope will live —

that's the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism had come to the vatican. the man they call the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it's the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! we have lost sally for a moment.

you are watching the briefing. our headlines: prince harry and megan markle prepare for their big day on saturday. we will have the latest on last—minute rehearsals. there is still no word yet as to who will walk down the aisle with meghan markle. thank you, david, forfilling in for just a moment. we are light at windsor castle and are subject to the odd technical glitch now and then —— leiva. we want to talk about prince harry and meghan markle's wedding, which may be making headlines, but it isn't the only one taking place on saturday. jayne mccubbin has been to meet one of the couples

sharing their special day. meat, not a meghan and harry, but claire and dan. he is the ginger prince. he is your ginger prince. this fairytale romance was built not in winter, but in gateshead. on the stag and hen dos she was crowned his princess. and their mothers could not be more excited. what do you think of the clash of dates, was it a problem? we have had ours arranged for about one year. but when they mentioned me, ithought for about one year. but when they mentioned me, i thought it would be the same date. they stole the date, but they were not going to steal it totally. they will not have as much money as we. this young man is very, very excited. dan's sonjames is

best man and will be giving out the rings. they hope. it is going to be special, isn't it? yes. this is my ring. i don't think it is your ring. my ring. i don't think it is your ring. my ring, my ring. another member of the family is wrestling with something else. my aunty sharon. i have a collection of thimbles of all the royal family. have a collection of thimbles of all the royalfamily. she is so big on all the royals. the biggest thing, my royal romances, eight collect them. when william and kate got married she cried, when harry announced he was getting married she was excited. i have a doll, it is kate, a will limited edition. she said that we were getting married in the centre is prince harry. she got excited and said she would not be able to watch the wedding. excited and said she would not be able to watch the weddinglj excited and said she would not be able to watch the wedding. i will have two recorded. are you gusted or have two recorded. are you gusted or have you secretly made up?|j have two recorded. are you gusted or have you secretly made up? i am

gutted. don't put that in. i made up because i want to be at manis's wedding. you know i because i want to be at manis's wedding. you know! am going because i want to be at manis's wedding. you know i am going to because i want to be at manis's wedding. you know! am going to have to put that in. while 2 billion will watch the other wedding, a select 200 will watch this main event. and as for aunty sharon butt i am so excited. there is always catch up. we wish them all the best tomorrow. may they also have an absolutely fantastic day. let us pause on our royal wedding coverage for just a few minutes and give you all the latest sports news. over to be bbc sport centre. hello. i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your friday sports briefing: nhl‘s debut franchise the vegas golden knights look to continue their incredible season as they search for a maiden stanley cup title, rafael nadal heads out in the quarterfinals of the rome masters and mohamad salah's boots line up in london next to ancient egyptian a rtefa cts .

it's game 4 of nhl‘s western conference finals on friday with vegas golden knights knowing that a victory will put them within touching distance of a stanley cup final in theirfirst season. a 4—2 victory over the winnipeg jets on wednesday has given them a 2—1 lead in the best of seven series. stage 13 of the giro d'italia is expected to be another one for the sprinters and that could mean back to back triumphs for ireland's sam bennett. he triumphed on the imola race circuit on thursday for his second victory of the year's first grand tour. friday's trek to nervesa de la battaglia is largely flat, meaning leader simon yates should hold onto his pinkjersey. rafael nadal will play clay court specialist fabio fognini in the quarterfinals of the rome masters on friday, bidding for an eighth title in the italian capital. nadal, down to number two in the world after his loss in madrid last week, eased past canada's denis shapovalov

in straight sets, but surprisingly hasn't actually won the title in rome since 2013. he had a couple of points in the first game. a couple points in the second game when i was returning. then i didn't make a couple of points. i thought it would become a little bit tougher. happy for the victory against a difficult opponent and let's see, excited to be in the quarter—finals again. another mouthwatering match up on friday sees french open champion jelena ostapenko face five time grand slam champion maria sharapova. the russian booked her spot in the last eight by beating australia's daria gavrilova in straight sets. the second round of the belgian knockout gets under way shortly and hopefully we'll be able to split some of those at the top of the leaderboard. there's no fewer than seven players tied on four under par. one of them is a local too.

belgium's thomas detry hit three birdies on his final three holes on thursday to move up to a share of the lead. italy goalkeeper gianluigi buffon will play his final game forjuventus on saturday after 17 years with the club. the 40—year—old who won the world cup in 2006 will lift his ninth serie a title after the game. buffon says he's received job offers both on and off the pitch. translation: my fear was to reach the end of my career being a sort of burden tojuventus, like a plane with a broken engine. i can say it has not been like this. i am proud to have put in great performances honouring my name and juventus into my 405. i have received some interesting offers of work on and off the pitch, less week in a less emotional setting than this i will decide what is best for me. —— next week. and finally, after a record breaking debut season for liverpool, mo salah has had yet another honour bestowed upon him. already the golden boot winner

with a record number of goals, voted players player of the year, football writers player of the year, the egyptian is now having his boots displayed alongside objects from ancient egypt at the british museum in the run up to the champions league final. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, that is your friday sport briefing. thank you for that. let us talk you through tomorrow. and in particular the moment when the public will be able to take a look at the newly married couple. the service, which will take place at st george '5 chapel, just around the corner year at windsor castle, it will conclude around one o'clock. the couple will come out of the church, they will acknowledge the 200 representatives of prince harry's charities who have black —— gathered in the cloister. then they will set off in their

carriage. close members will waive them. the route will take them through winter in itself and then they will go up what is called long walk, that is where most of the public will be gathered to catch a glimpse of harry and meghan. nirimba the cake. it is a very unusual, non—traditional wedding cake —— you may remember. it will be a special installation, we are told. elderflower and a lemon meas of its in three parts of varying sizes. —— layers. that is all they are telling us layers. that is all they are telling us at this stage. they wanted to be a surprise. we ask you to get in touch with your thoughts. are you enjoying this moment? are you having a street party? or are you a little fed up with this royal wedding fever? we have heard from many of you. blue flamingo says because many of us saw harry grow up and saw him go from a boy to a man we want him to be happy, we are getting involved

and loving it. another says that because nearly everyone loves a wedding, why should we not enjoy some happiness and rainbows every so often. lighten up and smell the roses, often. lighten up and smell the roses , says often. lighten up and smell the roses, says that particular viewer. nancy says because he is a great quy: nancy says because he is a great guy, he cares about people, and because he is diana's son. just to say, i will not be here tomorrow. i am hosting a street party. i had to put bunting up myself tomorrow morning. we will be back tomorrow —— shortly. we have business briefing coming up where we look at the cost and benefits of such a big occasion to the uk economy. stay with us on bbc news. hello. what a gorgeous day up and

down the country on thursday. lots of sunshine around. a bit of chilled to the air. it felt very pleasant. gorgeous weather watch pitches coming through. lovely sunset scenes as well up and down the country. overnight it looks like those temperatures will fall away once again under those clear skies. particularly east of scotland, income and wales. you will see close to freezing with a touch of frost. —— england. more cloud and maybe the odd shower. we start friday on a gorgeous note for many. a chilly start, lots of sunshine. bit more cloud for northern ireland and scotland. maybe the odd shower. it will have an impact on the temperatures. further south we have that sunshine, highs of 18 or 19 celsius. high pressure is dominating the scene again as we head towards the scene again as we head towards the weekend. try to keep these

weather fronts at bay. for the big day, saturday, the royal wedding at winds are, it is looking good. a fairly chilly start. lots of sunshine through the day. it should stay dry. the top temperature in the afternoon should be 20 or 21 celsius. this is the picture for saturday, lots of sudden turnaround including scotland and northern ireland. bit more cloud rolling into the north—west of scotland and breeze as the day wears on. that is about it. most places will have fair weather cloud. a top temperature of 21, maybe 20 to celsius. heading towards sunday, high pressure dominates the scene for most. the weather fronts making inroads dominates the scene for most. the weatherfronts making inroads to dominates the scene for most. the weather fronts making inroads to the north and west of the country. more ofa north and west of the country. more of a disappointing second half of the weekend. northern ireland, north and western scotland. outbreaks of rain and thicker cloud. the should be glimmers of brightness across north—east scotland and england and wales will have a gorgeous looking day, tempted to is up a notch. as we head into the start of next week,

high pressure still with us. this weather front linking the north—west corner of the country. bigger cloud once again with outbreaks of rain for the south and east. a dry and sunny day. a chance into the afternoon, the odd sharp shower developing across the south—east. most developing across the south—east. m ost pla ces developing across the south—east. most places will be dry and it will fill warm with a top temperature of 23 or maybe 24 celsius. this is business briefing. i'm david eades. a $200 billion olive branch. china offers to slash its massive trade gap with the us. the question is how. plus: happy couple, happy economy. from tourism to tea towels to trade, why the royal wedding could give a welcome boost to british business. and on the markets: the us ended lower on concerns over those trade talks. but asian shares are creeping up, as reports emerge of progress towards a deal.